Tanya Hamilton to Direct Freeform’s ‘Famous in Love’

Tanya Hamilton (Queen Sugar) has joined the directorial team of Freeform’s upcoming drama series Famous In Love starring Bella Thorne. The series will be based on Rebecca Serle’s romantic novel of the same name, and the script will be penned by Serle and I. Marlene King.

The series centers on Paige (Thorne), an ordinary college student who gets her big break after auditioning for the starring role in a Hollywood blockbuster. She must now navigate her new star-studded life and undeniable chemistry with her two co-leads while discovering the highs and lows that come with being the new It Girl in town.

The series will be produced by Pretty Little Liars producer Warner Horizon TV and King’s Long Lake Media. King will serve as executive producer alongside Dan Farah (The Shannara Chronicles). Serle will serve as co-executive producer.

Hamilton graduated from the Duke Ellington School of the Arts, where she studied painting. Eventually, Hamilton switched her focus from painting to filmmaking at Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art and then went on to attend Columbia University. Her first short was the critically acclaimed film The Killers, and she went on to write the award winning film Night Catches Us, which took a little over ten years to get made. Starring Anthony Macki and Kerry Washington, this film revolves around an ex-Black Panther’s return to Philadelphia for the funeral of his father in the late 1970’s where he must confront his complicated past as a member of the Black Panther movement. This critically acclaimed film won the award for Best American Film at Sundance Film Festival, and was also nominated for an Independent Spirit Award, four Image Awards, a Gotham Award, and a Chlotrudis Award. In addition to Night Catches Us, Hamilton directed an episode of Split Screen, a magazine-format show featuring diversity among American independent filmmakers. Hamilton was a member of the all female directorial team for Ava DuVernay’s Queen Sugar, and will soon be directing an episode of CW’s The Vampire Diaries and episodes of ABC’s American Crime.

About The Author

K. Nicole Mills is the Founder of HBR Media. She transitioned from Wall Street to television and film development, and has worked at NBCUniversal, Universal Pictures, and Showtime Networks. She currently develops digital programming for premium networks. Reach out anytime! info@hbrmedia.org